Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on the southern Kerala coast on May 29.country's weather office and India Meteorological Department (IMD), said this in a statement.

The India Meteorological Department declares the arrival of monsoon rains only after parameters measuring the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, intensity, cloudiness and wind speed are satisfied. The monsoon usually covers the half of the country in the first 15 days. Rains usually lash Kerala state on the south coast around June 1 and cover the whole country by mid-July.

India is expected to witness a normal southwest monsoon, Skymet a private weather forecasting agency had said in early April in its forecast.